Jumping ship

Jose Ramon Bauza was at one stage the undisputed heavyweight of the centre-right Partido Popular in the Balearics. He represented the new image of the party; he was young and appeared to have big plans. There was even talk of him becoming a minister in Madrid. He became Balearic president in a landslide victory, polling thousands more votes than his rivals. He was Mr Politics in the Balearics. But it all went badly wrong for Bauza; he was almost like the Tony Blair of local politics, he went from hero to zero. He attempted to change the school curriculum and called for a three-language education system. It was a hugely unpopular move and Bauza was ejected from office.

He went into the political wilderness and it even appeared his own party didn't want him. Last week he effectively jumped ship, he joined Ciudadanos, the new centre-right party. Some would say that it was quite a coup for the party, others are saying that it was a big mistake to accept him into their ranks. But Bauza will play a role in Ciudadanos' election campaign in the Balearics, bringing him head to head with his former friends and colleagues in the Partido Popular. A day is a long time in politics but it is quite amazing how politicians can change their colours almost at the drop of a hat. The Partido Popular is suffering an exodus of members at the moment for a variety of reasons, ranging from their move to the right to the corruption allegations which have hit the party. Bauza has gone and others are following.